In the last part of James 4:2, we read, “You do not have because you do not ask.” There are many things that God wants to give Christians, but they have not received them because they do not ask. This is especially true of spiritual blessings. Take the verse in Luke 11:13, “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” If we don't desire the Holy Spirit who makes us holy, we will never have the ability to live up to Jesus’ standard. That's why Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you” in Matthew 7:7.
Why does God wait for us to ask Him? Because He wants us to appreciate what He gives us. What He gives without us asking, we don't usually value. Forgiveness of sins, that’s the most important thing of all. Didn’t you get it by asking for it? Would you have gotten it if you didn't ask for it? Would you have received salvation if you didn't ask for it? There are millions of people on earth who have not been saved because they don't ask for it. They don't humble themselves to acknowledge that they need it.
What are the other requirements for receiving God's highest spiritual blessings? First of all, we must have a desire, a thirst, for them. Then, we must ask in faith. Asking speaks of that desire, and Jesus speaks about faith a few verses down, in Matthew 7:11. He says, “If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”
If you don't ask, you won't receive. If you seek, you will find. If you want to know the truth, you’ve got to seek for it. There are treasures in God's Word. There are some things on the surface, which everybody can receive, but its deepest treasures are inside, and you have to seek for them. Think about the earth. There are a lot of valuable things on the surface, like mangoes, coconuts, and so much other good fruit, but if you want the really expensive treasures, like gold and diamonds, you have to dig thousands of feet into the ground. In the same way, there are certain things you get from the surface of the Bible, such as how our sins can be forgiven (because Christ died for them). But if you want to discover the deepest truths of Scripture—how to live a Spirit-filled life, how to partake in God's nature, how to overcome all sin, how to overcome anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, sexual lusting—then you have to dig deep. If a person doesn't dig deep, God sees he is not really interested. “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek with all your heart, and you will find.”
It’s a promise we find in Jeremiah 29:13, “When you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me.” If a person has not found God and the wealth that is in Him, I can say without the slightest hesitation, that this man has not sought God with all his heart. He has sought half-heartedly, and there is no promise for the half-hearted in Scripture. There's no promise for the three-quarter-hearted either, but tremendous promises for the whole-hearted. You can be so close; you can give 90% of yourself to God and get no more than the person who gave 10% to Him. But, when you give a 100% to God, you get everything. If you give 90%, you're in just the same category as the person who gave 10%. That's what Christians don't realize. Seek God with 10% of your heart, and you won’t find Him. Seek Him with 90% of your heart, and you won’t find Him. Seek God with all your heart, and you’ll find Him.
Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. These are promises. God never breaks His promises. “Every single person who asks receives.” Why haven’t you received? You’re obviously not asking the way God wants you to ask. “Everyone who seeks, finds.” Maybe you haven't sought the way God wants you to. “It will be opened to everyone who knocks.” Perhaps you have not knocked sufficiently.
There are millions of things that Christians have missed just because they don't ask God. Remember this little sentence at the end of James 4:2, “You do not have something that God wants you to have because you do not ask.”
